2023 Public Night-Sky Viewing Begins at the Centre of the Universe at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Saturday April 29.
International Astronomy Day events will return to Victoria for 2023 on the weekend of April 29 and 30. The public is invited to daytime activities at the Bob Wright Centre on the Ring Road at the University of Victoria on Sunday, April 30 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The night before, Saturday, April 29, public telescope viewing will take place at the National Research Council of Canada’s Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and the Centre of the Universe from 7:30 to 11 p.m.
The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) Victoria Centre and the University of Victoria (UVic) Department of Physics and Astronomy are proud to sponsor family-friendly Astronomy Day activities, which will begin outside the Bob Wright Centre at 11 a.m. with solar telescopes for safely viewing the sun on the main concourse. The shift of daytime Astronomy Day activities to Sunday means that there will be FREE PARKING for the public at UVic.
Inside the Bob Wright Centre there will be astrophotography and historical displays, and tours of the Bob Wright Centre Observatory. RASC volunteers and Science Venture staff from the UVic will engage children with hands-on activities. All the astronomy presentations, displays, and workshops are free.
There will be free lecture presentations on astronomy in the Bob Wright Centre by Dr. Deborah Lokhorst of the National Research Council (NRC) on the DRAGONFLY Telescope, Simon Smith of UVic on Dwarf Galaxies, Xiaoyi Ma of UVic on Finding Exoplanets, Nathan Hellner-Mestleman of Mount Douglas Secondary School on Life in Space, David Lee of the RASC Victoria Centre on Astrophotography the Easy Way, Dr. Madeline Marshall of the NRC on What’s Been Happening with the James Webb Space Telescope?, and Dr. John McDonald of the RASC Victoria Centre presenting A Photo Tour of the Summer Sky.
The Friends of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, the RASC Victoria Centre, and the NRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre will host evening activities at Observatory Hill, 5071 West Saanich Road, on Saturday, April 29 from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Visitors with tickets will be admitted to Observatory Hill starting at 7:15 p.m. The Centre of the Universe exhibits will be open that evening, and the Observatory, including the historic Plaskett Telescope, will be open for tours. RASC members will have their personal telescopes set up for public viewing if the weather permits. There will be a presentation on the growing issue of satellite constellations by Dr. Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The public viewing on the evening of Saturday April 29 marks the beginning of public events at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory for the summer of 2023. Further public events at the DAO will take place this spring and summer on selected Saturdays.
Entry to the Observatory grounds for all public evenings in 2023, is by ticket ONLY. Tickets are FREE but require reservation. To obtain your entry ticket and further information on Saturday Star Parties, please go to www.eventbrite.ca/o/friends-of-the-dominion-astrophysical-observatory-12071364164#events. Tickets will be available starting Wednesday April 19. Current Federal Government Covid guidelines will be followed.
The RASC Victoria Centre is proud of its history and association with both amateur and professional astronomy in Victoria and its mandate for public education in Astronomy. For more information, please continue to explore our website.
Contact persons: Lauri Roche roche.lauri@gmail.com or 250-652-2361 or David Lee david@victoria.rasc.ca.